Julius reached the limits of his patience. His weakness had been displayed for Lord Snarling to witness. If he allowed any more words to escape in outrage, he was certain to regret it, so he rose to his feet and exited the study through the open terrace doors, shutting them behind him with a decisive click.
The sunshine blinded him after the gloom of the study, and Julius squinted against the bright light while seeking his bearings. When his vision cleared, he was alarmed to find he was peering at Miss Gideon, his father’s ward.
Silver-gray eyes stared at him with startled distress from under the rim of a straw bonnet, a quivering starling in her delicate hands and herbric-à-bracsprawled on the table before her. Little Audrey had grown into a lovely young woman, with curling flaxen hair that was escaping her hairpins and a little button nose that he had tweaked in his obnoxious youth. Julius instinctively noticed the swell of her full bosom with appreciation, before recollecting that Miss Gideon was a good girl and Julius had no interest in settling down. Good girls were a plague to be avoided with resolve and persistence, or he would end up like his unhappy parents.
“Miss Gideon.” He gave a polite bow, aware that the young lady had overheard personal grievances being aired from within, but all he could do was pretend he had no cares.
“Lord Trafford,” she responded, with a little nod of her head.
And, with that, Julius swept away with all the grace he could muster after discovering his crushing weakness had been observed not by one, but two people.
CHAPTER 2
“I have always loved truth so passionately that I have often resorted to lying as a way of introducing it into the minds which were ignorant of its charms.”
Giacomo Casanova
AUGUST 26, 1821
Julius arrived at Ridley House with Brendan’s letter in his hand. The past weeks had been a frustrating exercise in futile intelligence gathering. The more he learned about the suspects on their list, the less he knew about the murder of the baron. It had been a kick in the gut to receive word from Brendan earlier that day.
It happened again. I have doubled the guards. - Filminster
Damn Brendan, and his vagueness. What happened again? Was anyone injured? Julius lifted the heavy brass knocker on the front door and brought it down in hard taps.
A few minutes later, the door swung open and Julius found Michaels staring back at him.
“Are they safe?”
The older man, known for his reticent attitude, shut his eyes for a moment before nodding. Julius experienced a wash of relief, stepping forward to pat the butler on his shoulder. Michaels had averted a great tragedy when the baroness had been attacked nearly a month earlier, and Julius was profoundly grateful for the retainer’s sacrifice in killing her assailant.
“Good man. Where are they?”
Michaels gestured up at the large drawing room, stepping aside to allow Julius entry. Julius climbed the stairs two at a time in his haste to learn what had happened. Under normal circumstances, he would compose himself before entering, to don a mask of idle insouciance, but he did not bother this time. Sweeping into the room, he found Brendan and the baroness seated on a settee under the window.
“Ridley!”
Brendan took to his feet, his expression one of distress. As Julius approached, he noted that the baroness’s face was pale and pinched.
“What happened?”
Brendan ran a hand through chestnut curls that appeared to have been raked with great vigor into disheveled disarray. “Lily was in … We had another attempt to breach Ridley House.”
Lady Lily Ridley, a petite elf with chocolate brown hair, peered up at Julius, her eyes huge against her pallid features. It was obvious she was recovering from a great shock.
“I … visited the library this morning to fetch a book before breakfast, while it was still rather gloomy outside. I was in therefor several minutes before I felt a draught in the room. When I looked over to the window, I saw a ruffian climbing in and screamed for help.”
Julius realized with frustration that Lily’s voice was hoarse—she must have screamed with vigor if it had inflamed her throat. Anguish rose as Julius considered the brave bride who had saved his chum from the gallows. If anything happened to her … Julius admitted the baroness had stolen into his heart as a dear friend for her courage in defending Brendan. Despite his aversion to forming bonds with women, she was one of his allies now, someone under his personal protection. This continued campaign by the killer to search Ridley House for evidence of his identity was beyond the pale.
The baroness rose to take hold of his hand. “Trafford, you must not concern yourself. I am fine. We are fine. Brendan and I have made arrangements to stay with his sister and the Duke of Halmesbury. They have ample staff and are hiring guards to protect Markham House. Please … do not worry.”
Julius stared down at her, uncertain what to say. They barely knew each other, but what he knew of Lily Ridley, he admired with his entire being. Raising his gaze to Brendan, he licked his lips as he imagined what might have happened. The baroness was so tiny, she could have been overcome with ease or stolen from them. It was fortunate she had an impressive pair of lungs to aid in her survival. Her many years as a chatterbox had served her well today.
“This is … this is … this has gone too far!” Julius could hear the passion in his voice, and normally he would calm himself and adopt a languid posture and pretend that none of this caused anguish.
But it does! This has gone too far!
Brendan nodded. “I agree, but there is little to be done about it. We have to press on.”
